K-Mets fall to Royals, but playoffs in sight

KINGSPORT — The Kingsport Mets scored first, but that was it in Friday night’s 5-1 Appalachian League loss to the Burlington Royals at Hunter Wright Stadium.

Jarred Kelenic staked the K-Mets to a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single.

Eric Cole drove in two runs with a pair of hits for the Royals.

Kingsport retained its hold on the second playoff spot in the Appy League West Division and reduced its magic number to two. Although the K-Mets (32-31) are four games behind the first-place Elizabethton Twins (35-26) — who clinched a playoff berth Friday — they’re still three ahead of Bristol (29-34) for second. The top two teams in each division make the playoffs.

The regular season ends Wednesday, Aug. 29.

Kingsport and Burlington (22-41) play again Saturday at Hunter Wright. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.